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Div. 1 move starts to pay

UMass Lowell's fouryear transition period to Division 1 has often seemed long and tedious. Particularly to the school's athletes and fans.

When you go through the rigors of a regular season only to be denied the chance to play in a league tournament and compete for an NCAA tourney berth, it's undoubtedly a bit of bummer.

But it was all worth it.

UMass Lowell now truly looks and acts the part of a Division 1 university and will be well-equipped to compete for postseason success and even America East Conference titles when the transition period ends at the conclusion of this school year and the teams start playing for keeps in 2017-18.

The transition period has served its purpose by giving UML the necessary time to prove that it belongs at the highest level of collegiate athletics.

UMass Lowell's hockey team, a longtime member of the mighty Hockey East, will always be immensely popular. But the men's basketball team has stirred up increasing interest as it enters Year 4. The River Hawks have won a respectable 33 games in their first three years in D1, and have gone 21-27 in America East play. Both the men's and women's hoop teams will hold their first-ever River Hawk Madness event on Tuesday at the Tsongas Center (6 p.m.) to kick off the season. Fans and season-ticket holders will have a chance to play on the court and find their new seasonticket seat from 6 to 7:30 p.m. before team introductions. The teams will then take part in a 3point contest, a dunk contest and a knockout contest.

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Each of those competitions will be open to selected fans, including kids.

Also, one UMass Lowell student will have the opportunity to win $25,000 by hitting a half-court shot.

It's very similar to the "Midnight Madness" events that take place at big-time college basketball programs across the country. It's also a sign that UMass Lowell is making it a priority to promote a product that it believes is worthy of the public's attention.

Speaking of quality products at UMass Lowell, check out the nationally ranked men's soccer team. The squad is the owner of a 12-1-2 record after beating Albany, 1-0, on Sunday. The No. 19 River Hawks wrap up the regular season on Wednesday at home against Hartford.

There's a good chance the good times will keep rolling into next year, as UMass Lowell will lose just five seniors. The River Hawks should be in the hunt to win the league crown in the first year they are eligible.

The UMass Lowell field hockey team is the only program at UMass Lowell that was granted an accelerated transition period. The team received full Division 1 eligibility last year and that paid dividends this fall. UML earned a berth into its first-ever America East Conference Championship tournament and will be seeded fourth in the East Division, playing Stanford in the first round on Thursday.

The winter and spring will be important seasons for UML as it makes its final preparations for full Division 1 eligibility across the board. It's certainly looking like when the time arrives, UMass Lowell will be ready.

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